Tim Tebow, Broncos' Quarterback, not God's
At the risk of taking issue with the Wall Street Journal’s Patton Dodd, I don’t think Denver Bronco’s Tim Tebow is “God’s Quarterback.” I don’t even know if God follows the NFL or if He cares much about football. I do know, however, that Tebow is a religious lightning rod and that much of the criticism surrounding him reflects more on his critics than on Tebow.
Dodd does provide a litany of the quarterback’s altruistic activities both at the University of Florida where he “re-shaped campus culture” and since he joined the Broncos as well as testimonials to his model behavior. Spending his summers working with the poor in the Phillipines and raising $340,000 for charity while a Gator were prefatory to establishing a charitable family foundation.
Dodd also notes a marked contrast between Tebow and the significant number of star athletes who have recently used their stardom, and wealth, to engage in criminal and anti-social–dare I say immoral?–conduct. Among others, he cites Tiger Woods, Plaxico Buress, and Michael Vick.
Neither his admirable qualities nor contrasts with less admirable athletes qualify Tebow qualify Tebow as a saint or God’s designated quarterback. Neither should they disqualify him from objective recognition of his accomplishments.
Tim Tebow is no Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, or Peyton Manning–not yet, anyway–but he has caused an unprecedented uproar in the sports world that has surpassed few previous uproars, and little of it relates to his athletic abilities.
True, his wobbly passes and unconventional proclivity to run the ball have drawn valid criticism from NFL opponents and sports writers who ostensibly ridicule only his wobblies and unconventionality. However, it’s really the God thing, Tebow’s public affirmations of his relgiosity, that seems to bug many in the wide world of sports.
This Sunday’s game with Tom Brady’s New England Patriots is being characterized as Tebow’s biggest challenge to date, with both the Broncos and the Patriots desperate for a victory and Tebow, not desparate after leading the Broncos to seven wins in the eight games he’s started, but entitled.
Tim Tebow is entitled to some respect in addition to recognition.
Whether or not Tebow pulls off another amazing comeback victory and takes his team to the playoffs, it’s doubtful he’ll get it. He just has too many liabilities. (Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=10775.)
Showing posts with label tebowing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tebowing. Show all posts
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Tebowing, a PC No-No
Tebowing, a PC No-No
“Tebowing” in the National Football League is unrelated to elbowing, kicking, or tackling. It’s an odd phenomenon inspired by the much-disparaged, much-admired, newly-designated starting Denver Bronco quarterback, Tim Tebow.
It seems Tim has a rare quirk for an NFL player. He feels he should publicly kneel on one knee in prayer to thank God when he accomplishes great things. Other, growing, phenomena are Tebow fans who have taken to emulating his quirk and media criticism by people disturbed by his overt Christian religiosity.
Tim Tebow may be a fan fave but he isn’t exactly a big favorite in the politically-correct community mainstream media which seem very uncomfortable with the facts he’s an unreconstructed evangelical Christian who isn’t embarrassed to admit it and because he doesn’t fit the MSM mold.
From his glory days as a Florida Gator, there was just something about the 2007 Heisman Award winner that many in the PC sports media couldn’t quite articulate. Well, they could but doing so would out them as anti-Christian bigots and they couldn’t very well admit that. Beginning with complaints over his evangelizing habit of posting biblical verses in eye black, they adopted various subterfuges to ridicule him instead.
The Denver Post took an oblique swipe at the wildly popular Tebow in an article not devoted to the quarterback as much as to what it called, “Tebow Inc.,” the successful family enterprise which markets a variety of products from a Christian perspective but which, according to the Post, revolves around “All Tim, all the time.”
The Post strongly implied “Team Tebow” serves to gratify Tim’s ego as well as charitable beneficiaries and suggested Kyle Orton became the Bronco backup to Tebow due mainly to “Tebow Mania” and not to any of his debatable skills on the field.
Before the 2011 NFL season began, CBSSports.com’s Gregg Doyel became especially exercised over Tebow’s innocuous remark that, “I’m relying as always on my faith.” A paraphrase of the comment might be that he simply meant he’s a religious guy who counts on his religion to guide and inspire him.
Not so to Doyel, who contended he really liked Tebow personally and is himself a churchgoer and, without mentioning the kneeling prayer, interpreted that profession of faith as something that “baffles” him and clear evidence that Tebow was guilty of blasphemy, a contemptuous irreverence toward God.
Without evincing any affection or Christian charity, Doyel did show he fails to understand the sin of blasphemy or the quarterback . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=5858.)
“Tebowing” in the National Football League is unrelated to elbowing, kicking, or tackling. It’s an odd phenomenon inspired by the much-disparaged, much-admired, newly-designated starting Denver Bronco quarterback, Tim Tebow.
It seems Tim has a rare quirk for an NFL player. He feels he should publicly kneel on one knee in prayer to thank God when he accomplishes great things. Other, growing, phenomena are Tebow fans who have taken to emulating his quirk and media criticism by people disturbed by his overt Christian religiosity.
Tim Tebow may be a fan fave but he isn’t exactly a big favorite in the politically-correct community mainstream media which seem very uncomfortable with the facts he’s an unreconstructed evangelical Christian who isn’t embarrassed to admit it and because he doesn’t fit the MSM mold.
From his glory days as a Florida Gator, there was just something about the 2007 Heisman Award winner that many in the PC sports media couldn’t quite articulate. Well, they could but doing so would out them as anti-Christian bigots and they couldn’t very well admit that. Beginning with complaints over his evangelizing habit of posting biblical verses in eye black, they adopted various subterfuges to ridicule him instead.
The Denver Post took an oblique swipe at the wildly popular Tebow in an article not devoted to the quarterback as much as to what it called, “Tebow Inc.,” the successful family enterprise which markets a variety of products from a Christian perspective but which, according to the Post, revolves around “All Tim, all the time.”
The Post strongly implied “Team Tebow” serves to gratify Tim’s ego as well as charitable beneficiaries and suggested Kyle Orton became the Bronco backup to Tebow due mainly to “Tebow Mania” and not to any of his debatable skills on the field.
Before the 2011 NFL season began, CBSSports.com’s Gregg Doyel became especially exercised over Tebow’s innocuous remark that, “I’m relying as always on my faith.” A paraphrase of the comment might be that he simply meant he’s a religious guy who counts on his religion to guide and inspire him.
Not so to Doyel, who contended he really liked Tebow personally and is himself a churchgoer and, without mentioning the kneeling prayer, interpreted that profession of faith as something that “baffles” him and clear evidence that Tebow was guilty of blasphemy, a contemptuous irreverence toward God.
Without evincing any affection or Christian charity, Doyel did show he fails to understand the sin of blasphemy or the quarterback . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=5858.)
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